Along with Oca and Yacon, Mashua completes the trilogy of unusual South American tubers growing in our garden.
The plant is closely related to nasturtiums and is marketed as an ornamental climbing nasturtium. It looks quite pretty with its lobed leaves and orange flowers; and you’re in for a big surprise when you dig it up. Relative to the size of the plant, the number and size of the tubers is astounding. And like Oca and Yacon, it is one of the few plants that the Seattle slugs don’t seem to like.
The tubers taste a bit like radish – crunchy and spicy. They’d be nice sliced up in a salad or maybe mixed into a stir fry. This year we’re replanting most of the tubers – but I expect a bountiful crop this fall.
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